Tensions flare between still hunters and hound-assisted trackers

Monday

An old dispute stands — is even rising — between still hunters and those who track deer with trained hounds.

An old dispute stands — is even rising — between still hunters and those who track deer with trained hounds.

Local hunters said that rift widened after the recent deaths of two Walker hounds — their bullet-pierced bodies were left on the forest floor in Jones County woods about a month into gun season for whitetail deer in Eastern North Carolina.

Marine Cpl. Jeremy Ryan Edge, 22, of Jacksonville was arrested Nov. 16 in connection to the Jones County dog deaths by Jones County Sheriff’s Office on two charges of felony cruelty to animals, two charges of misdemeanor larceny and misdemeanor removal of an electronic tracking collar, according to the arresting agency.

“This is the first time that I can remember when somebody was locked up and charged because of it,” Rouse said.

Rouse applauded the investigation in Jones County.

“It makes me happy that somebody, finally, is doing something about it,” Rouse said. “That’s the first arrests that I have known or seen.”

Perhaps it stems from advanced GPS tracking, typically transmitted from collars. Too frequently, those collars are cut from the animals and buried, Jones County Sheriff Danny Heath told The Daily News.

N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission Officer Murphy Hall said the agency investigates all reports of unlawful acts. Typically, violations involve removal of tracking collars on hunting dogs. State law prohibits the removal of a dog’s electronic collar placed by its owner to maintain control of the animal, according to N.C. General Statutes. The charge is a misdemeanor.

“The biggest problem isn’t killing dogs,” Hall said. “The biggest problem is people taking dog collars off. It’s a pretty common occurrence. We investigate a couple of those cases per year. We have had people keep them and throw them in the water.”

Hunting with fox hounds — Rouse’s preferred breed — is an act of patience in constant motion and dog-tracking. As dogs track deer, the owners remain observant, often from screens that show the location of the animals’ GPS collars. The practice differs extremely from still hunting, which relies on elements of surprise. Tree stands, for example, are a tool to obscure the hunter’s presence.

“We don’t deer hunt for the sport of killing animals,” Rouse said. “We do it for the chase. We don’t do it for the hunt.”

Hall said dog-assisted hunters enjoy tracking the dogs and the camaraderie evidenced by chatter on CB radios — even today, they are a tool of the trade — regarding dog and deer updates.

“They just love hearing the dogs work the deer,” Hall said. “That’s their recreation.”

It’s all about bragging rights, Rouse said. Bragging about whose dogs are best trained, most obedient.

“There are people who don’t consider that hunting,” Rouse said. “It really ain’t that easy. I take my group of hounds and 90 percent of the time, a big buck is going to get away from us. And it isn’t a lazy sport.”

For Rouse, hunting with hounds is like pet ownership with responsibilities multiplied.

They start preparing the dogs before their first hunt — usually at six months.

Stephen Norris, an Onslow County native and Verona resident, said hunting-dog killings are becoming more prevalent. He said they are “100 percent” based on property disputes — hunting dogs tracking deer across private lands. Few cases, he added, involve actual misbehavior by the dogs.

Norris hunts in Stones Creek Game Lands and private holdings. He said dog hunting is a fading tradition, one he absorbed from his father. It isn’t because of the work, he added, but the rise of hunting for trophies rather than the sport of harvesting meat.

Norris, who also is a still hunter, said he has shot deer on the same day someone’s hunting pack traipsed through his corn pile. In many cases, the day of hunting is disrupted by the appearance of another person’s dogs.

“(Still hunters) think, if a dog comes through their area, their whole hunting season is over,” Norris said. “That is just not so. Problem is, people are greedy. They want to kill them off. Ninety percent of still hunters aren’t out to kill deer; they’re out there to get trophies.”

“I’ve got two dogs in my dog pen,” he added. “If they were destroying somebody’s property, I ain’t going to say a word to it. If they’re just milling around, eating food and somebody shoots them just because they’re dogs, that ain’t right. There’s people out there like that.”

Solitary ideal

For many hunters, the recreation taps desires for open, uninterrupted, natural space.

But the rising population of hunters in a growing area increase probable conflict that disrupts that solitude.

“It’s basically jealousy,” Norris said. He added that some hunters strive to catch the largest deer — an ambition he lacks. Others, he said, believe dogs are an advantage.

Norris also described problems hunters face from property owners who don’t want “your dogs” on their property.

Hall said the commission’s most prevalent complaint stems from the regrouping of dogs — and hunters — on private property, especially the first day of deer-hunting season for gun kills.

“Between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Oct. 17, we received many calls about people who were trying to get their dogs,” Hall said. “That’s the biggest issue. If you see a group of men holding guns on the side of the road, you may have no clue what they’re doing.”

Private properties abut game lands — such as Croatan National Forest and Stones Creek — and some hunting areas are separated by private parcels, increasing the areas of undesired overlap.

Norris said he has heard tales of disgruntled hunters and property owners — some who are not hunters — killing dogs and removing tracking devices. He also knows of cases in which dog collars were buried beside U.S. 17.

But not all property owners and still hunters are at fault, he added.

“You’ve still got some still hunters and property owners with piles of land who are good ones,” Norris said, recalling a man recently who allowed Norris to retrieve his dogs from private property.

Still, the killing trend is on the rise. The discussion is a growing topic among the pines.

“It’s becoming more and more of a problem. We try our best to keep them off of private property,” Norris said. “That dog, he can’t fight back.”

Hall said many dog-assisted deer hunters strive to maintain control of their animals.

To report a violation, call the commission’s violation hotline at 1-800-662-7137.

For other information about dog hunting, visit NCWildlife.org.

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